Her Name
by aeliuned
Summary: He couldn't care less what happened to everyone else. He only heard her name. Somewhat OOC, mostly Vegeta POV


A/N: really, this is drabble, but the look on Vegeta's face was just begging for it! This is my version on the thought process of Vegeta. And oh yeah, this is when Vegeta shows up before he and Goku fight Buu, BEFORE Vegeta complies to fuse with Goku with the earrings.

Disclaimer: Oh yeah, and DBZ isn't mine…wishful thinking…

* * *

"Chi-chi,"

Vegeta remained undaunted, still smirking. Why should he care about the wellbeing of Kakaroto's harping consort? Why would he fuse with this fool for that female?

"Bulma,"

He froze, his pupils dilated and his whole body quivering. His ears roared, and he dazedly. His jaw was slack with horror as he stared at Kakaroto in disbelief.

Bulma was dead.

Bulma was dead.

Bulma was dead.

Bulma was dead.

_Bulma was dead. _

_How?_ he asked himself numbly. _She survived for so long…how? And how had he not seen her? Surely she wasn't dead...she couldn't be…not now, not when…_

Waves of regret and sorrow petrified him as seconds dragged surreally. He regretted not spending more time with her. He regretted not thanking her enough for what she had done for him. He regretted leaving her and Trunks. He regretted not apologizing to them for leaving. But most of all, he regretted not telling Bulma that he loved her.

He wondered if she knew. They had shared both house and bed, but he had never showed that he appreciated her save for when she was scantily clad. But on those occasions Bulma was deliberately seeking appreciation.

Past memories flickered through his mind. He remembered vaguely what Bulma had said maybe five years ago...what had it been? "They say that right before you die your entire life flashes before your eyes…hey, that rhymed!"

Well, no shit.

But he wasn't about to die, was he? But at this point he barely even cared. Why should he? If he died, he might see her in the afterlife, though it was unlikely she'd go to heaven…no, he'd either go to hell and if he was lucky, would be able to go to some Kai or whatever they were called.

How the fuck could Bulma be dead? She had survived Raditz, Nappa, himself, FRIEZA (_twice_) and King Cold, the androids, and Cell…so how the fuck could she be dead now?

His vision was blurring and it was becoming hard to breathe.

No, of course she wasn't dead. Fuck Kakaroto for feeding him BS!

But why would Kakaroto feed him BS, anyway? It wasn't like him to lie, especially at a time like this.

Yet he couldn't bear to believe Kakaroto.

Bulma was dead,_Bulma was dead__—_

DAMMIT, GODDAMMIT!! Kami-sama, let Kakaroto be lying, he _had_ to be lying!

His sight began to darken.

Nothing was dearer to him, _nothing_, and the fucker who had been the cause of his second death had killed her!

But she wasn't dead, she couldn't be dead.

His world swirled into blackness…

* * *

_Half-closed__ blue eyes that gazed at him through a teal curtain of hair were full of tears. She was hugging herself, as if she was cold and lonely. _

I knew it,_ he thought to himself in relief._ I knew that Kakaroto was lying…that bastard!

_She was __beautiful, she was his goddess, she was _perfect._ She meant more to him than she knew, or ever would know._

-Why…?-

-Did I have a choice?- _He asked._

-Not that, Vegeta…why did you give in?-

_Vegeta flinched._

-I…I'm sorry, Bulma. -

-So many lives were taken, so many innocent lives, Vegeta.- _Her lower lip trembled._ -I thought you had changed! I thought you would finally understand that lives aren't things that can be disposed of whenever you feel like it, and now, I too, am dead.-

-I _did_ change!-_ Vegeta protested. _

-How? -

-I didn't kill anyone before that, and it's been what…ten years? It's been a whole decade since I stopped killing for my own amusement after a lifetime of purging planets.-

-But why did you return to the heartless warrior you were when you first came to Earth?- _Bulma demanded, her lips pursed. __What would he not give to kiss her at this moment?_

-Kakaroto…-

-You needed to become stronger to defeat him, is that it?- _Bulma placed her hands on her hips. __-_That would be so goddamn _typical_ of you! You would go to _any_ lengths to crush Goku! You would even _betray our trust_ -

_Her voice had suddenly taken on a sob, though she didn't cry despite the wetness that glittered in her cerulean gaze. _

-You even betrayed _my_ trust, Vegeta.- _S__he whispered__ brokenly. __-_How could you?-

-The question is why, Bulma,- _he told her dully._

-Then why would you surrender yourself to those—those—_things_ so you could become so without conscience that you would kill hundreds, if not thousands, of defenseless, innocent people so you could get a fight out of Goku? WHY!? Do you not have your pride, or is defeating Goku worth more than—-

-Do you want to know _why_ I let myself become a Majin?- _He asked her furiously as his onyx eyes flared dangerously.__-_I was afraid of becoming that fool Kakaroto. I never planned to stay on a planet longer than what it would take to destroy it, let alone settle down and start a family. Nor did I intend to become so attached to a place and its people that if by any chance the place and its people were destroyed, I would become insane with _grief,_ something I never planned to feel. But I could not detach myself so effortlessly, not when Earth meant so much to me. So I needed to become the stereotypical "evil" warrior I used to be once more. Only then would I be able to tear myself away from emotion; only then would I be able to regain my pride by crushing Kakaroto without being burdened by guilt for scarring Earth—scarring those closest to me. But the control I had over myself was etched with what I had been trying to elude. I needed to escape from what I had done, to atone for my mistake, by sacrificing myself to destroy Bibidi and Babidi's creation.-

-Did you so hate to feel?- _Bulma asked quietly, a diamond tear rolling down her porcelain cheek._

-No.- _He reached out an arm towards her. _-I hated to know that you might be torn away from me at any moment.-

-And Trunks?- _Bulma raised an eyebrow._

-He can look out for himself,- _He smirked._ -After all, my blood runs in his veins.-

_Dammit, she was fading away, back into the darkness._

-I don't want you to go.-

-Don't leave me.-

-I won't.-

-Anything else you want to say before I go?-

-Yeah…- _Somehow, Vegeta reached out to her and held her in his arms. Her sweet aroma filled his breath as he gathered as many details as he could of her in this short time._-I love you.-

_They kissed fiercely as even the darkness disappeared, and they were torn apart.

* * *

_Vegeta returned to reality, and his loss seared him again. But he had finally come to terms with Bulma's death. He could still almost taste her from that kiss, could almost see her sapphire eyes.

His sorrow turned into pure—but controlled—rage as he recalled who had killed her. In a flash he turned SSj, his eyes blazing with fury.

"So you really think that we can handle him apart?"

Vegeta smirked.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

It had been a week since Buu had been annihilated. Vegeta lounged on the sofa, flipping through channels. Trunks ran into the living room and jumped onto the other end of the couch.

"Papa, could you give me the remote? There's a show I _really_ want to see."

"Dream on, kiddo."

"But Papa…"

"Trunks-chan, isn't it past your bedtime?" Bulma asked from the living room entrance. Her arms were crossed as she leaned on the wall.

Vegeta eyed Trunks trudge dejectedly to his bedroom. He stayed on the sofa, continuing to flip through the channels as Bulma watched him, pretending not to notice her presence. Eventually the channel-flipping ruse wore out and Vegeta turned the TV off.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanted to ask a question, geez," Bulma rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Shoot."

"Huh?"

"Well, if you don't want to ask anymore…" He picked up the remote again.

"No, wait!" Bulma cried out, stepping towards him. "I—I still want to ask. While we were dead, did you see me at all…just once?"

"No…" Vegeta frowned. "Why?"

"You sure?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" He repeated.

"Oh, it's just that…never mind," She was already on her way back to the kitchen, a slightly cynical smile curving her supple lips, as if she was scolding herself for hoping for something that was impossible.

"Tell me."

She faced him, blushing sheepishly and simultaneously challenging him with her defiant, unnaturally bright, gaze.

"While I was in heaven I was suddenly in this dark place and you were too, and you explained to me why you had turned into a Majin." She laughed bitterly, and her eyes glinted with unshed tears—"Best part is, you told me you loved me. You actually said 'I love you' to me. Funny, isn't it?"

He strode over to her and grabbed her.

"The hell it is," he snarled in her ear, and crushed her mouth with his. She melted into his hold. They made their way to the large sofa, kissing fiercely. In their fervor they didn't notice that the lights had turned off.

She collapsed against him, her slender body snuggled against his. As usual she was much more worn than he. She was soon sound asleep, her features cast into a being of divine beauty by the full moon. He kissed her lips with a smiling tenderness he would never show her in her waking world, and caressed her oval face lightly, staring at her peaceful face with a gentle intensity. He tucked back a lock of her silky teal hair. Then, making sure she was fast asleep, whispered,

"I love you."

With that he closed his eyes and surrendered himself to sleep.

A soft smile graced her lips as she opened her eyes sleepily. Her gaze was as loving as his had been less than an hour ago. But unlike Vegeta's smile, hers was of an endearing triumph.

"I love you too," she said, her voice muffled by the hollow of his neck.

She nestled into his sculpted chest, reveling in his warmth. Then she, too, dipped back into slumber, losing herself in the soothing darkness as she joined her beloved in the land of dreams.

* * *

Yeah, yeah, OOC, I know. Still, you should review. 


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